Today is Groucho Marx's birthday -- he was born in 1890. As someone who has a cat named Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho's character in Duck Soup), I felt I had to commemorate the occasion. And I thought, what better way to start a Monday than with a reminder of the famous stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera?

A Night at the Opera isn't one of my favorite Marx Brothers movies; I'm much fonder of their earlier films Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, and Monkey Business. I realize a lot of people will argue with me, but I feel like the opera bits tend to slow down the comedy. However, no one can argue that the stateroom scene, in which 15 people manage to cram themselves into a tiny room, is a wonderful gag. The contract-signing scene is also memorably funny. The cast includes Margaret Dumont, who was the Marx Brothers' best straight man, as well as a young Kitty Carlisle. More info, trivia, and photos can be found at the Night at the Opera fan site.